10 quick thoughts from Week 17 as Washington is eliminated from playoff contention
By Jerry Trotta
It’s official, folks. After Sunday’s loss, the Washington Football Team will not be making an appearance in the playoffs.
Severely undermanned and down a host of key coaches, Washington came up short against the Philadelphia Eagles, who continue to do JUST enough to win games and keep their own playoff hopes alive.
It looked as though Taylor Heinicke was going to lead his fourth game-winning drive of the season, but John Bates tripped on an end zone target on the final possession and the pass sailed right into the arms of Rodney McLeod.
Ten thoughts won’t be enough to cover every inch of this game, but we did our best to touch on some of the major talking points.
Washington Football Team: 10 quick thoughts from Week 17
Why is Cam Sims not a focal point?: On the game’s opening drive, Taylor Heinicke connected with Cam Sims to move the chains on third down.
It was an eye-catching grab from Sims, who climbed the latter and had to shield the ball from an incoming safety to avoid a potential deflection. These acrobatic grabs have become routine for the fourth-year receiver.
He always seems to produce when he gets the chance, so why hasn’t he received more playing time? It’s one of this season’s greatest mysteries.
Nice grab by Cam Sims on 3rd and short. Safety drove down on the route and Sims had to shield the ball from him. Good job coming down with the ball and converting pic.twitter.com/KG8ZUOSALM
— Mark Bullock (@MarkBullockNFL) January 2, 2022
What an opening drive: Before you can blink, or even sit down for the game (!), Washington took a 7-0 lead. Was it the most impressive opening drive of the year for the offense? You’d be hard-pressed to find a better one.
Three passes for 50 yards and three runs for 17 yards capped off by a nifty 11-yard touchdown scamper by Jaret Patterson.
More of this in the future, please.
Not a good sign for the rookie: Washington came up with a huge fourth down stand inside their own territory on the Eagles’ first drive.
While the play deserves to be celebrated (Matt Ioannidis was especially influential in halting Jordan Howard’s momentum) it was hard not to notice that David Mayo was in over first-rounder Jamin Davis.
Not what you want from the No. 19 overall pick, who had no reported injuries throughout the week leading up to the game. Hard to argue against the idea that the Kentucky product was over-drafted by Ron Rivera and Co.